The beautiful village of Evenley lies around a mile or so south of the market town of Brackley. If its true South Northants you are looking for, then Evenley doesn't get anymore south. The river Great Ouse runs around the edge of Evenley and northeast of the parish is Buckinghamshire and to the south is Oxfordshire. This would give a potential walk spilling over to three counties in one walk which is fairly unique. Evenley is home to the magnificent listed Evenley Hall which dates back to 1740 and was built for Francis Bassett before being reconfigured after a fire in 1897. It became a children`s home for 1941-2001 before being sold and is again in private hands.
The centre of the village is very pleasing on the eye with the traditional village green and cricket pitch and thatched cottages complete with village shop completing that very English look. Steve Hogarth , known as "H" lives on the green and weirdly, my son went to nursery with his lad so when we are there in the summer, I normally say hello him as his lad plays kids cricket and you will see "H" with a pint and his newspaper on the village green. For those of you wondering who he is, he is the lead singer of the prog rock band Marillion and an accomplished solo artist in his own right.
I've got to be brutally honest and say that I have walked around here a handful of times, mostly with Roger and Sue Atkins although we have done Vizz Whizz events here. It is always very pleasant especially in the warmer months as there is not so much mud. The area does have mud in patches mainly through the brief areas of woodland and field rights of way across the farmers fields.
You can set off from various locations with this walk. The obvious and most civilised one is from the village green near the pub. Parking on the green itself, head away from the pub into the far corner of the cricket field near the practice nets and you will see a gate. Head through hear and you are on a track that is surrounded by farm fields and wide open ground. You can get some great views from here and nice pictures ,there is a field along here smothered in poppies that makes for dramatic pictures with zooming gingers. Keep along here crossing a narrow section of spinney and into the next field. Eventually you come across a small wood or copse and you will need to cut through here crossing the stream and bearing left around the field before you join the main track.
This leads me onto carparking option number two. The track mentioned comes down from the main road, if you call a narrow country road main? Driving past the pub on the road out to Mixbury (sounds like a disease, sorry if you live in Mixbury) you will see a turn on the left no more than 600yds out of Evenley, and this heads to a dead end as far as the river. You won`t be going that far but will stop opposite a gate with a signposted carpark. I believe there is a wood product based company/country store kind of set up here. I tend to park on the track to keep it easy and walk straight down the main track all the way to the bridge that crosses the River Great Ouse. Here you can safely lets the Vs play in the water as it is very shallow and has a nice flow. One other thing that you notice is the derelict railway infrastructure and disused railways that criss cross the area. Across the bridge you can scramble up onto the abandoned line and walk along here for miles if you wanted to. The beauty of walking here, is that you are highly unlikely to bump into many walkers and those that do walk here are mainly locals or people that know it well. I would say that you have to keep your bearings but most of the walks are marked as rights of way, carry your phone for google map backup as you can easily cover a lot of ground here. One word of warning and that is to be mindful of the shoots that take place around the estate at Evenley Hall, but obviously this is seasonal and you are Ok from February onwards and of course, Sundays, but be careful from September.
Heading further down the Mixbury road into Mixbury village, there is a small carpark on the left on a sweeping bend. From here you can follow the track straight down which joins the disused railway lines and you are then into the same area as the previous location.
A nice walk here which for whatever reason we really should go here more. The prize of course at the Red Lion is a pint of ale or something fizzy and cold with some nice pub grub all in a lovely beer garden and dog friendly establishment ending another lovely walk.
The centre of the village is very pleasing on the eye with the traditional village green and cricket pitch and thatched cottages complete with village shop completing that very English look. Steve Hogarth , known as "H" lives on the green and weirdly, my son went to nursery with his lad so when we are there in the summer, I normally say hello him as his lad plays kids cricket and you will see "H" with a pint and his newspaper on the village green. For those of you wondering who he is, he is the lead singer of the prog rock band Marillion and an accomplished solo artist in his own right.
I've got to be brutally honest and say that I have walked around here a handful of times, mostly with Roger and Sue Atkins although we have done Vizz Whizz events here. It is always very pleasant especially in the warmer months as there is not so much mud. The area does have mud in patches mainly through the brief areas of woodland and field rights of way across the farmers fields.
You can set off from various locations with this walk. The obvious and most civilised one is from the village green near the pub. Parking on the green itself, head away from the pub into the far corner of the cricket field near the practice nets and you will see a gate. Head through hear and you are on a track that is surrounded by farm fields and wide open ground. You can get some great views from here and nice pictures ,there is a field along here smothered in poppies that makes for dramatic pictures with zooming gingers. Keep along here crossing a narrow section of spinney and into the next field. Eventually you come across a small wood or copse and you will need to cut through here crossing the stream and bearing left around the field before you join the main track.
This leads me onto carparking option number two. The track mentioned comes down from the main road, if you call a narrow country road main? Driving past the pub on the road out to Mixbury (sounds like a disease, sorry if you live in Mixbury) you will see a turn on the left no more than 600yds out of Evenley, and this heads to a dead end as far as the river. You won`t be going that far but will stop opposite a gate with a signposted carpark. I believe there is a wood product based company/country store kind of set up here. I tend to park on the track to keep it easy and walk straight down the main track all the way to the bridge that crosses the River Great Ouse. Here you can safely lets the Vs play in the water as it is very shallow and has a nice flow. One other thing that you notice is the derelict railway infrastructure and disused railways that criss cross the area. Across the bridge you can scramble up onto the abandoned line and walk along here for miles if you wanted to. The beauty of walking here, is that you are highly unlikely to bump into many walkers and those that do walk here are mainly locals or people that know it well. I would say that you have to keep your bearings but most of the walks are marked as rights of way, carry your phone for google map backup as you can easily cover a lot of ground here. One word of warning and that is to be mindful of the shoots that take place around the estate at Evenley Hall, but obviously this is seasonal and you are Ok from February onwards and of course, Sundays, but be careful from September.
Heading further down the Mixbury road into Mixbury village, there is a small carpark on the left on a sweeping bend. From here you can follow the track straight down which joins the disused railway lines and you are then into the same area as the previous location.
A nice walk here which for whatever reason we really should go here more. The prize of course at the Red Lion is a pint of ale or something fizzy and cold with some nice pub grub all in a lovely beer garden and dog friendly establishment ending another lovely walk.
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